Veteran jockey Luke Williams predicts a bright future for Tower Hill-trained three-year-old The Last King following his impressive debut win at Colac last Sunday.
The Pat McKenna-trained gelding was backed from $8 to $6.50 for the open-age 1000-metre maiden, beating Cracked It by a length and a quarter.
Williams, who’d done much of The Last King’s education work before piloting him on debut, said Sunday’s win didn’t surprise him.
“I went to Colac quietly confident going on his trackwork,” Williams said. 
“He’d won jumpouts at Warrnambool and Camperdown, and went to the line strongly. 
“I thought he only had to produce an effort like those and he’d be hard to beat. 
“We’ve always had a very good opinion of the horse. I broke him in as a young horse and I’ve done a lot of work with him. 
“Full credit to Pat. He’s done a great job. 
“Pat’s a very underrated trainer. He just floats under the radar and that’s how he wants it. 
“The win is also a great result for The Last King’s owners. They’re all top blokes and I reckon they might have a really good horse.”
The Last King, who cost just $2000 in an online sale as a weanling in 2023, picked up $17,600 for his debut victory.
He is a full brother to Merchant Gold, who ran second in last year’s Group 3 Gold Coast Guineas and has since been exported to Hong Kong.
Vue beauty
Another highlight of the Colac program was the first winner for Ballarat trainer Taige Weir, daughter of banned trainer Darren Weir. 
No Greater Vue ($15-$13) stormed home from the second half to win a 1200-metre by a length and a quarter.
It was the grey gelding’s first start for Weir and his fourth overall. 
The galloper was ridden by Taige Weir’s partner, Will Gordon.
Darren Weir trained the gelding’s sire, dual Group 2 winner Puissance De Lune.
’Bool boss locked in
After signing a new three-year contract with the Warrnambool Racing Club, chief executive officer Luke Cann is looking forward to the upcoming May carnival with excitement.
Cann’s name had been linked to a CEO search at the Ballarat Turf Club after the sudden departure of Peter Downs from that job last month.
The father-of-two said he was delighted to get the new contract done, rather than waiting around amid more speculation.
“There had been a bit of talk but my heart has always been In Warrnambool,” Cann said. “I’m just glad the new contract has been signed. We can now fully concentrate on the May carnival. 
“I’ve been in the job since late May 2023 and we’ve built a great team around us. We have wonderful people in various roles at the club and the future is very positive. 
Responding to negative comments on jumps racing from Animal Justice Party state MP Georgie Purcell in last Saturday’s Warrnambool Standard, Cann said: “I don’t agree.”
“Jumps racing is an integral part of our carnival and the Victorian racing calender. The Australian Jumps Racing Association and Racing Victoria are doing great jobs ensuring the safety of horses and jockeys.”
Cann says he’s hoping for record crowds at the three-day carnival.
“Our bookings are really strong at this stage,” he said. “Fingers crossed it’ll be a massive carnival — the economic spinoffs for businesses In Warrnambool and the south west are immense.”
This year’s carnival runs from Tuesday May 5 to Thursday May 7.
Black-booker
• Foujita San: caught the eye with a big finish to run second in the 2000-metre benchmark 84 that closed last Saturday’s Flemington program. It was his fist start for Warrnambool trainer Shane Jackson and the six-year-old should be improved with that outing under his belt. In the care of Hawkes Racing, Foujita San had seconds to his credit in the Group 2 Stutt Stakes (2022) and Group 3 Easter Cup (2025).